Sponsored Links

Slow download on Three 5G home broadband - solutions / alternatives

mchr3k

Member
I live in a flat in Bristol that doesn’t have fiber coverage and the ADSL here only manages 10-20mbit down and ~1mbit up. In July 2023 I got Three’s 5G home broadband and this gave me ~100+ mbit down and ~50+ mbit up which was a huge improvement. Three sent me the NR510E 5G router and I put this on a window sill which has line of sight to a phone mast (which I’m hoping is where my 5G signal comes from).

Over the last month I’ve noticed that my Three 5g home broadband download speeds have gotten much worse. I’ve run multiple speed tests to confirm this and I just ran a speed test on my iphone 13 mini and got 7mbit down and ~50mbit up. Running a speed test on my Macbook Air M1 I got 1mbit down and ~40mbit up. I don’t know why the signal to my Macbook seems to be worse - I’m sitting in the same room as the router.

Is there anything which I can do to improve this? I’m a software engineer so I’m very happy to dive into technical details, but I’ve never had to try and troubleshoot a 5G connection before.

I tried calling Three support but they just read me a script about how I should switch to a 4G router because I don’t have 5G coverage at my address and wouldn’t engage with my question about why the 5G performance at my address has been great for a year and is now much worse, and why I’m still getting good upload speeds but not download speeds.

I’m on Three’s “Home BB 1M Unlimited 5G” plan for ~£26/month and using ~180-250GB/month as I work from home. I get mobile service with EE and I’ve been falling back to tethering to my phone over the last week to get fast enough internet. I’m currently paying EE £15/month for 125GB/month of mobile data so I can’t just switch to tethering long term without upgrading this, and I want to be able to have home wifi without having to tether each device to my phone e.g. if I want to watch something on my laptop / browse the web and have things load quickly.

What are my best options here? EE’s own 5G home broadband options are pretty expensive. It looks like the only option if I want 250GB+/month of data is 500GB/month on a Smart 5G Hub for £100 upfront plus £45/month, for an 18 month contract. Looking at EE’s sim only deals, it looks like I could get unlimited data for £27/month on a 1-month contract (as an existing EE customer), which I guess to use I would just need to buy a 5G router as presumably my Three one will be locked to Three and they’ll want it back when I cancel? It looks like I could get a “ZTE MC888” for £199.99 on Amazon (new) or a “ZTE MC801A” on Amazon (Renewed). Are those reasonable choices, or are there cheaper/better options which I should consider?
 
Put the SIM in your phone and run a few speedtests around the flat and outside just to be sure it's not a problem with the router/wifi. If you want/can, also test in different areas. If you get better speeds somewhere else, then you know it's a local mast problem and not an account/SIM problem.

You can also go to the router's admin page and see what it says. Are you using 4G or 5G? What are the bands being used? If you select manual mode (from memory: Broadband > Cellular Band) and select other bands, do you get better speeds (edit, youtube video)? I don't know what are the bands available on your nearest mast, but Three uses band 1, 3, 20, 28, 32, and 78. Try only B1 (4G) + n78 (5G). Then try B3 + n78, B28 + n78, etc, different pairings and see if the speeds are better or not.

---

Two notes about the previous paragraph:

- Check cellmapper.net to have an idea about the bands available on masts near you and if the mast you think you're using is even from Three.
- Regarding the manual selection of bands, "B" = 4G/LTE bands, "n" = 5G bands; right now Three's 5G relies on 4G, we can't use pure 5G. You need at least one 4G band for 5G to work.

---

Also, you've probably done this, but do speeds improve after a reboot? And is the router's software up to date?

If you decide to use a different network, I don't think the router is network locked, so unless it has a problem, you can use a different SIM in it. I guess you can test this by using your phone's SIM in the router? Make sure to setup the APN (search for EE APN) and if you play with the bands, set it to auto again as EE uses different bands.

And is EE the best solution? Have you looked at Vodafone or O2? I'd check CellMapper to see which ones have masts nearer to you and which ones have more capacity/bands in the area.

People here like to try things first with a MVNO. TalkMobile or Voxi for Vodafone, 1pMobile or Spusu for EE, maybe GiffGaff for O2 (and Smarty for Three). 1 month plans, no contract... just put the SIM in your phone or router and test it.

If EE is your choice, then you have cheaper options. Scancom (good feedback here) sells unlimited EE business data SIMs on Amazon and it costs around £14 a month, the downside is that you need to pay upfront. Utility Warehouse (also EE) has unlimited for £23 a month ( https://uw.co.uk/mobile ). 500GB costs £25 on 1pmobile ( https://1pmobile.com/data-500GB-SIM ).

If you decide to go with EE directly, look at the plan details. The cheaper plans now have a 100Mbps speed cap (the alternatives above don't). Maybe that's enough, but there's no point in paying more for less.
 
And is EE the best solution? Have you looked at Vodafone or O2? I'd check CellMapper to see which ones have masts nearer to you and which ones have more capacity/bands in the area.
EE probably would be due to historic investment from Orange (after all, EE and Vodafone have offices there, you can see the EE ones as you go on the M5 Southbound after the Alderstone Interchange). O2 was not great on 4G in Bristol a while back for me (it might be better further out from the city centre), not unwound (basically Vodafone manages O2's infrastructure for them) so Vodafone would probably be a better option than O2.

Even 4G on EE should be relatively stable hopefully depending on area.
 
  • Like
Reactions: S0X
Sponsored Links
> Put the SIM in your phone and run a few speedtests around the flat and outside just to be sure it's not a problem with the router/wifi.

I just tested the Three sim in my iPhone and got ~14 mbit down and ~20-40 bit up. So I'm going to say that this is a local 5G network issue rather than a wifi/router issue.

> You can also go to the router's admin page and see what it says. Are you using 4G or 5G? What are the bands being used?

The router web admin portal reports:

* Access Technology: NR5G-NSA
* Band: B1,B3,n78,n78
* RSSI: -63
* Cell ID: 224585
* Physical Cell ID: 185
* UL Bandwidth (MHz): 10M,100M
* DL Bandwidth (MHz): 10M,15M,100M,40M
* RFCN: 99,1392,641376,631392
* RSRP: -74
* RSRQ: -10
* SINR: 24
* RSRP-NSA: -76
* RSRQ-NSA: -2
* SINR-NSA: 28
* TAC: 2513

> I don't know what are the bands available on your nearest mast, but Three uses band 1, 3, 20, 28, 32, and 78. Try only B1 (4G) + n78 (5G). Then try B3 + n78, B28 + n78, etc, different pairings and see if the speeds are better or not.

I tried:
* "B1,n78" -> ~4 mbit down
* "B3,n78" -> ~4 bit down
* "B20,n78,n78" -> ~4 bit down
* "B28,n78" -> ~4 mbit down
* "B32,n78" -> connection down

> Also, you've probably done this, but do speeds improve after a reboot? And is the router's software up to date?

No improvement after reboot. I'm running firmware version "V1.00(ACBJ.0)b15" and the auto-update says there's no new firmware available.

> And is EE the best solution? Have you looked at Vodafone or O2? I'd check CellMapper to see which ones have masts nearer to you and which ones have more capacity/bands in the area.

I'm preferring EE since I know they work well at the moment since I use them for my mobile service.

> People here like to try things first with a MVNO.

Why are MVNO's preferred? Is it just that they usually offer better deals, or is there some other reason I'm not aware of?

> If you decide to go with EE directly, look at the plan details. The cheaper plans now have a 100Mbps speed cap (the alternatives above don't). Maybe that's enough, but there's no point in paying more for less.

Thanks for the tip! The EE Sim-only deal I was looking at doesn't have this speed cap. It's described as:
* £26.60/month, 1 month contract
* Essentials Unlimited Max plan, Our best speed, uncapped Mbps

> If EE is your choice, then you have cheaper options. [...] Utility Warehouse (also EE) has unlimited for £23 a month ( https://uw.co.uk/mobile ).

I strongly prefer a one month contract since I don't trust that the performance I see today will persist for 12/18/24 months. That Utility Warehouse deals sounds like fantastic value to me!

Thanks for all your help!

Do you have any advice about my choice of 5G Router? I expect that Three will ask for their one back so I'll need to buy my own.
 
Yeah, I'd say it's a local issue, not a problem with your hardware. You have band n78, which provides the fast 5G speeds on Three, so you should be getting good speeds.

I don't know if the average support person has access to detailed information about local issues. If the mast is still working, then they probably see a "no issues in the area" type of message. That's probably why Three's support hasn't been helpful.

If you get to keep the router, it should be good enough. I use a NR5103E (Three branded, unlocked, bought at CEX - I believe only the Three branded one lets us control the bands, which is important in my case) with a EE SIM from Scancom and it works well. I don't know if this is the best option though, others here know much more about routers than I do. If no one replies here, open a new thread just for that.

Based on the Cell ID you shared and looking at Cell Mapper, EE should be good in the area (I assume you live around Redland/Montpelier/Cotham). According to the official coverage maps (via this site), EE and Vodafone should have the best 5G coverage:

Screenshot-2024-07-15-at-13-37-50.png


Coverage maps sometimes are a bit too optimistic and having good signal doesn't mean having great speeds, that's why we have to test and pick what works best for us.

There's nothing wrong with going directly with EE, in fact sometimes MVOs have very good plans (eg: Three's sub £10/month for unlimited busines data, which self-employed people can get)... but since you mentioned EE and the cost, I wanted to give you some cheaper alternatives.

I use MVNOs because of the short term contracts and prices, especially if you go via sites like USwitch. You can get unlimited data on Three via Smarty or on Vodafone via TalkMobile for £16 a month. It's cheaper, no long term commitments, no yearly price increases, sometimes better speed caps, etc. If it stops working well, you just order a SIM from a different network and cancel the old one. The downside is, they usually can't do much if you need help to configure your router or if there's something wrong with the network.
 
> People here like to try things first with a MVNO.

Why are MVNO's preferred? Is it just that they usually offer better deals, or is there some other reason I'm not aware of?
Cheaper and you don't have to deal with credit checks etc.


Based on the Cell ID you shared and looking at Cell Mapper, EE should be good in the area (I assume you live around Redland/Montpelier/Cotham). According to the official coverage maps (via this site), EE and Vodafone should have the best 5G coverage:
It's going to be good anyways since Orange was headquartered there. Although, I do find EE's map is the most inaccurate to me.

---

What's the speed on EE anyways from the SIM in your phone? Does it provide decent speeds? If it's over 200mbps then it's going to be your best option for sure most likely.
 
Meanwhile, try setting the router to 4G only as it won't use duff 5G bands when it aggregates. My 4G speeds are around a very usable - 80Mbps down/20Mbps up.
 
Sponsored Links
> What's the speed on EE anyways from the SIM in your phone? Does it provide decent speeds? If it's over 200mbps then it's going to be your best option for sure most likely.

My mobile plan is actually capped at 100 mbits down and I can see that in speed tests - I get 100 mbit down and 50 mbit up.

> Meanwhile, try setting the router to 4G only as it won't use duff 5G bands when it aggregates. My 4G speeds are around a very usable - 80Mbps down/20Mbps up.

I've tried setting my 5G router to use 4G and I still only get ~10-20 mbit down and ~40 mbit up.
 
> What's the speed on EE anyways from the SIM in your phone? Does it provide decent speeds? If it's over 200mbps then it's going to be your best option for sure most likely.

My mobile plan is actually capped at 100 mbits down and I can see that in speed tests - I get 100 mbit down and 50 mbit up.

> Meanwhile, try setting the router to 4G only as it won't use duff 5G bands when it aggregates. My 4G speeds are around a very usable - 80Mbps down/20Mbps up.

I've tried setting my 5G router to use 4G and I still only get ~10-20 mbit down and ~40 mbit up.
Yeah I'd definitely use EE
 
Top
Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £22.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Vodafone UK ISP Logo
Vodafone £24.00 - 26.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
NOW UK ISP Logo
NOW £24.00
100Mbps
Gift: None
Plusnet UK ISP Logo
Plusnet £25.99
145Mbps
Gift: £50 Reward Card
Large Availability | View All
Cheapest ISPs for 100Mbps+
Gigaclear UK ISP Logo
Gigaclear £17.00
200Mbps
Gift: None
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £22.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Hey! Broadband UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Youfibre UK ISP Logo
Youfibre £23.99
150Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Sponsored Links
The Top 15 Category Tags
  1. FTTP (6024)
  2. BT (3639)
  3. Politics (2720)
  4. Business (2439)
  5. Openreach (2405)
  6. Building Digital UK (2330)
  7. Mobile Broadband (2144)
  8. FTTC (2083)
  9. Statistics (1899)
  10. 4G (1814)
  11. Virgin Media (1763)
  12. Ofcom Regulation (1582)
  13. Fibre Optic (1467)
  14. Wireless Internet (1462)
  15. 5G (1405)
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms  ,  Privacy and Cookie Policy  ,  Links  ,  Website Rules